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What is the concept of population growth?

What is the population?

Population in general, it means The census, that is, counting the number of people in a given area, in order to know the population of that areaIn other words, the population census or census is defined as a systematic process, usually carried out by the official authorities in the government, through which they can collect information on population growth, or social, demographic and economic information about them, with the aim of developing the population and society in all respects, and in general Population censuses are conducted by governments, once every 10 years, and their primary goal is the total census of a country’s population, and the census can also be done more specialized, by subgroups with a specific goal, such as humanitarian organizations that count the population In an area to provide aid, or international organizations and others.[1]

Census date

Historically, there are many statistics made by our ancestors previously, in prehistoric times, starting from the ancient kingdom of Babylon and the civilizations of Mesopotamia, to the civilizations of Persia, ancient China and ancient Pharaonic Egypt, in addition to the ancient Romans and Greeks, and the majority of these statistics, were not With the aim of economic development or improving the quality of the population or even looking at their requirements, but these statistics were aimed at either military matters, to know the number of individuals able to enter the army, or financial, where they were counting the population to impose taxes on them, as the census was present in the era of the Abbasid Caliphate from Islamic civilization, and these statistics continued to disappear and appear in an unorganized manner in the history of nations, until the end of the eighteenth century.[2]

Census newly

The population census actually began for the first time, in 1790 AD in the United States of America, despite previous attempts by some countries such as France, Britain and Italy, which were simple and unsystematic, and after the American experience in this field, the country began to follow in census operations at the beginning of the nineteenth century, In the forefront of the Western European countries, which were the focus of events at that time, in that they were the modern colonial countries, especially England and France, followed by Italy, Spain and the rest of the countries, and then the idea moved to the countries of Asia and Africa, and the development of the census took place several times, especially that His old methods were very expensive, and some areas were difficult to reach for counting, but now, the population census in most countries has developed in a modern technical and technological way, saving time and money more.[2]

Population growth

Population growth is the growing increase in the population, which is usually calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births to find out the new growth rate, and there are two types of growth, either it is positive growth that benefits society, or negative growth that harms it, and in general, there are three Basic factors affecting growth, which are high or weak fertility in the population, high or low mortality, and the third factor is immigration into or outgoing a country, and with regard to population growth of countries and other national populations, the impact of immigration is usually not the same as the effects of the effects of Fertility and mortality, usually seen as the main factors that directly cause national population growth, and increasing population growth is one of the most serious risks faced by some of the most important major countries, led by India and China.[2]

Population stages

The census process is a very difficult and expensive process at the same time, and although many countries have used modern technology for the census process, there are many countries that lack these tools, and they still do it manually, and in both cases, there are certain stages To be followed in the census process are:[3]

• Planning: Which includes the production of thought that facilitates the census process, so that the entire population can be reached wherever they are located at the lowest costs and very quickly.
• Statistics: It is carried out in several ways, according to the capabilities of the state and the distribution of its residents and the ability to reach them. Among the well-known census methods, forms are forms that must be distributed and filled out by the population, or send employees to conduct interviews with them, or an electronic census via the network.
• Data collection: It is the result that the census aims at, and it includes all the information of interest to the government, including the number of the population, the ratio of males to females, knowledge of the elderly, young people, newborns and everything related to the population.
• Processing results: It is the stage in which the information obtained is arranged, organized in a way that can be accessed quickly, in addition to its systematic archiving, whether in written records, or through modern digital applications of the government.
• Post results: Previously, this feature was only available through the old media, but now, everyone can view these results through official government websites on the Internet, however, not all demographic information can be made accessible to everyone, there is confidential information that cannot be disclosed. , such as revealing the identity of individuals.

Census data types

Census data is the primary data used by planners to understand the social, economic and demographic conditions locally and nationally. These data include the following:[3]

• Data on the geographical distribution of the population over the area of ​​land that belongs to the state.
• Data of residential characteristics where the residents reside, in terms of availability and development in services, facilities and residential buildings.
• Household data regarding the size and composition of families and the number of individuals in them.
• Data on newborns, fertility rates and the number of deaths, through which the size of population growth is known.
• Data on the age structure of the population in terms of individuals of education age, working age or old age.
• Nationality data in terms of the original persons in the country, or its residents.
• Medical cases, including the presence of people with special needs and identifying the types of these needs that society suffers from.
• Data of the social status of the population in each region separately, in order to understand the interconnected social status of the population.
• Data on the educational situation in terms of the presence of educated groups in these areas, or the presence of problems that prevent their educational attainment, as this would delay the progress of the state.
• Data on the economic situation in terms of the living situation of the population, the availability of job opportunities and the types of businesses available in this region.
• Births and deaths data for each year, to know the extent of population growth, and the extent of its impact on the social situation in any region.
• Data describing the rate and patterns of urbanization, and determining the proportion of households in agricultural production and livestock.

The importance of the census

In terms of importance, population census data can help to understand the social, economic and demographic conditions in the societies in which these residents live, and this has a positive impact not only on the population, but on the entire country and those in it in all fields, as well as affecting the country’s internal and external economy , in terms of understanding the composition of the population, its distribution, ages, work, education, etc., helps in organizing society, understanding its problems, securing job opportunities, improving the economy and advancing the state as a whole, in addition to improving internal conditions, infrastructure, facilities and services for the people of the state, including basic services and facilities, such as Schools, universities, roads, government institutions, national hospitals, and more. A census helps formulate and monitor national development programmes, allocate national resources, review administrative and electoral boundaries, and locate social infrastructure.[4]

Census goals

The population census is not only limited to knowing the number and size of the population in a country, but it takes other, much more important aspects, which are related to achieving the interest of society as a whole, and this depends on the goals that it is looking for, which can be summarized as follows:[4]

• The primary objective of a population census is to provide the government and other stakeholders with basic reference information about the demographic, social and economic characteristics of a population.
• Providing important information to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and other anti-discrimination measures and to give members of the community their legitimate rights.
• Accurate census data is necessary to develop accurate assessments, in order to grant the economic well-being of the nation as a whole. The enjoyment of the economy is everyone’s right.
• Helping families and people with limited income, in terms of identifying areas eligible for housing assistance, rehabilitation loans, housing subsidies, job training, employment services, and others.
• Accurate census data is also essential, to allocate funds for supplementary food programs and other social services for women and children.
• Helping the elderly and people with special needs, through Social Security and Medicare programs, and predicting the number of people eligible for Social Security disability benefits.
• Many planning responsibilities in local government rely on census data, such as infrastructure, public health, environmental protection, and program planning.
• Knowing the population distribution helps in knowing the composition of the land on which the population lives, in terms of whether they are arable cities, or they are capable of becoming cities.
• Census data aims to allocate funding for several education programs, such as vocational education, adult education, literacy, school building, and others.
• Informing the state and government of areas that are not well known, especially remote areas where there may be no services at all.
• Census information aims to find out how to provide relief, in the event of a natural disaster occurring somewhere on the territory of the country.
• The population census helps to know the commercial uses, including the development of local markets, support for national goods, and also aims to deliver basic commodities to the population, such as infant formula and others.
• Securing basic medical services for the population, including vaccinations against epidemics, and providing essential medicines.

Saudi Arabia 2022 census link

Disadvantages of the census

The population census is one of the priorities of any state that seeks to achieve justice, well-being and equality among members of its society. However, these matters are sometimes considered specific, for the state, society and individuals alike, due to some of the few defects that it bears, including:[4]

• Costs: Despite modern census methods, the old methods are still used because of their accuracy, and since the statistician closely monitors every element of the population before collecting data, it makes census investigation a very expensive method of investigation.
• wasting time: The investigation of the census may take a very long time depending on the size of the country and the population, and this also requires manpower to collect the original data.
• Possibility of errors: This is very possible, and the occurrence of errors in the census is due to several reasons, such as lack of response by the population, errors in measurement, inaccurate definition of statistical units, or even the personal bias of those in charge of the census process.

Population Census PDF

Despite some of the few flaws it has, the population census is one of the most important components of a healthy state and strong In all fields, whether political, military, economic, development and others, all of these sectors and others depend directly on the population who are the backbone of the state, and given the importance of this topic, we present this article to you as a pdf file that can be downloaded “from here”, so that it remains a reference that can be returned him when needed.

With this, we come to the end of our article, which was titled What is the population?، Through which we got acquainted with the concept of population and population census, and its ancient and modern history, its importance in knowing population growth, and we also learned about the stages of this census and the types of data it provides, and how important it is, its objectives and uses, and what are its disadvantages.